The Dragon Must Fall
by Superles
Summary: The races of Ferelden have had an on going feud for years but something happens that will have them all working together. The 100 characters set in Bioware's Dragon Age world. **16/02/17 - Putting chapters back to how they were. We're working on updates so hopefully start posting again soon!**
1. Chapter One

Even though it had been 3 moons already, Clarke Griffin still couldn't get over the freedom of being in the village Arkadia. Living in a mage tower most of her life she barely got to go outside.

All mages, by law, had to live within a Circle of Magi tower. The towers came about due to the fear of mages, after a minority would use their magic for darkness. They used fear to gain power or kill fellow mortals. Some even transform themselves into abominations, that they could not return from. The worst and most feared were the blood mages. Blood magic was believed to have originally be taught to mortals by demons. It was used in order to access more powerful magic. The mages were willing to sacrifice their own health or the life of others in order to wield the powers of mind control, the awakening of the undead or summoning of demons.

Even now some mages choose to rebel against the law and didn't enter a tower. They were known as apostates but most, however, didn't used their magic for darkness.

The tower the Griffin's had been located in was on an island, in the middle of a large lake. Only accessible by boat. This was to "protect" people from the mages. The tower was tall, dark and cold. It could house up to a hundred mages at once, with training rooms, a kitchen, shared bedrooms and a large library. Clarke spend most of her time in the library, reading the many books of the different races.

Clarke herself wasn't a mage, having never shown any signs of the basic magics - ice, fire or electric. However her mother, Abigail 'Abby' Griffin, was.

3 moons ago the leader of Arkadia, Marcus Kane, had come to the tower to ask for a mage, specialising in healing to come to their village as many people had fallen ill, and traditional medicine wasn't working. Abby was the best healer with whom the Circle of Magi trusted, so a quarter moon later the Griffin's left to start a new life and cure the sick of Arkadia.

Arkadia was a small village, with a population of around 200 humans. It had a tavern, blacksmiths, market stalls, and houses of various shapes and sizes made from wood and clay.

The Griffin's home was located on the outskirts of the village, near the edge of the great forest of Polis. It was known the Trikru elves had a camp within the forest, so the humans of Arkadia tended to avoid going deep within the trees.

Clarke never understood, nor liked, the distrust and sometimes hate between the races. It was because of these feuds that she had lost her father many winters ago.

She was sitting alone on a slight embankment near her home, facing towards the forest of Polis.

She was an average height for her 18th winter, a beautiful young woman with a pale complexion, round face, and a dimpled chin. With blonde wavy hair always hidden under a bandana that also covered the tops of her ears. Her blue eyes were watching the trees blow in the gently breeze.

' _I wished I could learn more about the elves living in there, rather than the usual 'They are disgusting knife ears'...or no answer at all, that I normally get from the people around here.'_ Clarke thought to herself, rolling her eyes ' _They're not as bad as the ogres or trolls! Those fuckers attack villages at any given time, and would gladly kill a human!'_

"Hey Raven, she's over here!" Clarke was broken from her thoughts by the shout. She turned to see her friend Octavia, at the top of the embankment, calling to their other friend Raven.

Octavia Blake had been the first friend the blonde had made within the village. She was as many winters old as Clarke, with long black hair and brown eyes. Her parents had been killed during a troll attack on the village two winters prior. So now it was just her and her brother, Bellamy, who was apart of the village guard. Octavia helped out in the tavern to earn a few coins of her own, rather than relying on her brother's earnings.

Once she had made her way down the embankment she sat down next to Clarke, waiting for Raven to join them.

Raven Reyes was a winter older than the other two. The blacksmith's daughter had olive skin, dark hair and eyes. She had also suffered during the troll attack. Her left leg was broken by one of the troll's hammers and she had lost her brother when he saved her from that troll. But she didn't let the fact she now had a limp stop her from doing what she wanted. And she was a genius! She had somehow managed to enchant a fire rune to a sword her father had made, making it stronger and more powerful, when it struck something it lit up in flames. Sadly, however, she only ever found that one rune. Still she bragged the heck out of the fact she was able to accomplish something so hard

Once she had caught up with her friend she sat down at the other side of Clarke.

"Hey Pirate." Raven had given Clarke the nickname on account of her always wearing a bandana over her head. The blonde rolled her eyes at her friend before asking them what they were doing that day.

"Nothing. We're both bored so we thought we come plan something fun with you." Octavia smiled at her.

"We could go gather plants for my mum?"

"Eh, Octavia said fun, Clarke. Plant gathering can be pretty boring."

"Okay, well you come up with a better plan."

"Oh! What about those cool ruins in the woods? The ones we saw last time we gathered plants for Abby? We could go check them out?"

The other two girls eyes lit up, then nodded their heads at Raven' suggestion.

"Race you!" Octavia shouted while jumping to her feet and running toward the forest. Clarke grinned, also jumping to her feet and chasing after her friend.

"Hey! No fair! You know I can't run as fast!" Raven shouted out to her friends getting to her feet to follow.

-

Deep within the forest of Polis a large stag was grazing in a clear patch of the forest. He lifted his head, looking around, fearing danger near by. After a few minutes with nothing happening he tipped his head back down.

Suddenly an arrow landed in his side. He gave out a whine then jumped to flee. However another arrow hit him in the neck slowing him down further. He had almost made it out of the clearing when another arrow hit him. He fell to the ground, succumbing to his injuries.

Across from the clearing, hidden within the bushes, a hand patted a younger elf on the back. " _Well done Leksa. Along with mine and Linkon's kill we will have plenty of food for the camp for a week_ " Anya smiled proudly at her cousin. And she had every right to be proud, for she was once Lexa's mentor.

They were part of the Trikru clan. The Trikru was a clan of around 100 free elves, who were not, nor ever wanted to be city elves. City elves were made to live in Alienages within a city, becoming slaves to humans.

Lexa was in her 20th winter. Her skin was tanned. She had long brown hair, which was pulled back from her face with a number of layered braids so her long pointed ears were visible. She had a youthful face, with green eyes and full lips. Her body appeared lean, but was also toned.

Anya was 10 winters older than Lexa. She was taller, her body as lean yet toned as her cousin's. She had dark blonde hair with black roots. Her hair was also braided, and her pointed ears stuck out from her hair. She had hazel, almond-shaped eyes.

When Lexa was 8 winters old Anya became her mentor. She taught the young elf how to hunt, fight and hide her emotions. She trained Lexa how to be an archer, how to welded dual blades and speak the human language Gonasleng. Now however Lexa was no longer Anya's second, but her equal.

The pair headed across the clearing to gather the fur and meat from the deer.

" _Will you be coming back to camp with me or do you wish to explore the forest?_ " Anya asked her cousin once they were finished with the stag. She knew Lexa enjoyed her company but sometimes the younger elf needed time alone.

" _I will explore the forest._ " Lexa knew where she wanted to explore. A few times now during their hunts she had noticed an old Azgeda ruin in the forest, close to the human village of Arkadia. She had been waiting awhile now to discover the secrets within them.

The elves nodded their heads to each other, then left the clearing in their separate ways.


	2. Chapter Two

Within the forest of Polis there were a few small hills. By the side of them there were the old ruins. It looked as though in its time it had been a large, grand, building. The roof and many of the walls were long gone. All that was left were the columns, some still standing tall, and pieces of the old walls that hadn't completely crumbled to the ground. The rumors around Arkadia was that it had once belonged to a clan of elves.

Moving deeper into the ruins it appeared it had been built at side of the cave that went into the hill. The entrance area had many passages leading off deeper into the cave.

"There are far too many cobwebs in here." Raven declared after wiping another one off her face. The three girls were dealing with their boredom by exploring the ruins.

"Just be glad it's not from huge spiders like my brother say there are in these woods."

"Bell is talking crap."

"How would you know" Octavia retorts, "It's not like you know this forest. You never get out of Arkadia"

"I may not know much about this forest but I do know Bellamy."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Oh come on. He is so overdramatic. Must be a Blake trait."

"It's so not." Octavia defended herself.

"It so is." Raven sang back with a challenging grin on her face.

Clarke giggled at her friends bickering while her eyes never left the ruins around her. She started to wish she had taken her sketchbook with her. ' _This place is amazing_ ' she thought while looking at the old walls that still had some markings that hadn't crumbled off yet. One of them almost looked like it used to be a hand. The fingers had crumbled off except for most of the pinky and the tip of the index finger. The palm looked like it used to be made up of a spiral design.

She ran her finger along what was left of the spiral, sure she had seen something similar before.

She started following the faded images along the wall, lost in her own mind. ' _These are beautiful. I wish I could have seen this place when it was in its full glory_.' she was so lost in her mind that she didn't notice she had been walking for a good few minutes.

Clarke stopped suddenly when she realised she could no longer hear her friends constant bickering. She turned around to see that she was all alone with no sign of her friends anywhere. Panic started to fill her veins. She was all alone in the middle of these ruins which were in the middle of the forest. If anything would happen now. ' _No_ ' she quickly corrected herself. ' _No thinking like that. Besides how far could I have wandered off_.' With that thought she tried to remember what path she had taken to get here when suddenly she heard a sort of clicking noise behind her. Turning back around she noticed a giant spider halfway down the corridor. Clarke started to move backwards away from the huge spider ' _Oh shit! Bellamy wasn't lying about giant spiders_!' Her left foot hit against a loose stone which sent her tumbling onto her back. Pulling herself up onto her hands she saw the spider had heard her fall and was moving towards her fast. Feeling she had no time to get up she started scurrying back on her hands and feet. ' _Maker, please don't let me die down here.'_

Suddenly the spider gave out a screech when an arrow landed in one of its many eyes, followed quickly by another. The blonde turned her head in time to see a young woman run towards the huge beast with a dagger in her hand. She leap into the air then landed on the spider's back, she drove the dagger deep into it's head. She jumped off it, turning in mid air to land on her feet inches in front of Clarke. The huge spider gave out a final screech before rolling onto its back and curling up into a ball. The girl turned around and offered her hand to the blonde. "Laik yu alright?" Clarke couldn't believe it, in front of her stood an elf. 'A gorgeous one at that.' she thought. The elf's eyes were a shade of green that made Clarke think of the forest and her lips looked so kissable to the blonde. Clarke shook her head to clear her thoughts. She accepted the girl's hand and was pulled to her feet. Now standing in front of her saviour she noticed the elf was only slightly taller than herself.

"Chit laik yu doing down hir alone? Laik yu hurt?" Lexa asked but the blonde just looked at her confused. ' _Oh! Of course. She does not speak elvish_!' Lexa thought. "Sorry. I asked why you are down here on your own and if you are hurt, human?"

"No I'm fine, thanks to you. I kinda wandered off from my friends."

"It is not safe down here for you, human"

"Clarke. My name is Clarke, not human...Elf."

"Sorry _Klark_. I did not mean to offend, I have not met many humans. And my name is _Leska_...not elf." she lifted one side of her mouth in a smile. "Come, we should get you back to your friends."

The pair walked back towards the entrance in silence. Clarke couldn't stop sneaking peaks at the elf, and a couple of times she noticed the elf looking at her too.

"Clarke!" Octavia shouted once she saw her friend coming around the corner.

Raven came over from where she was crouched down."Where the fuck did yo- Hello elf…" Lexa had just stepped around to stand beside the blonde.

"I take it these are your friends?"

"Yes. Thank you for saving me, Lexa, and helping me find my way back."

Lexa bowed her head slightly. "Be safe, Klark kom Arkadia." She then held her head high and left.

Clarke stared after the elf. Wishing she wasn't leaving. ' Finally a chance to learn about elves, from one themselves, but no, you had to be too busy thinking how hot she is.' the blonde thought, annoyed with herself.

"Wow I've never seen an Elf in person before. She was taller than I thought they would be." Octavia then looked to Clarke "How did you meet her?"

"Well, you know those huge spiders you're so certain are just in Bell's imagination? They're not!" Clarke went on to tell her friend what had happened. "-and she just appeared out of nowhere and saved me."

"Well I think we should leave before we see any more of those giant spiders" Raven started to walk the same way Lexa had left, then threw over her shoulder "And she's not around to save our beautiful assess." The other two laughed at Raven then started to follow her out as well. Before they made it all the way out Clarke looked back at the carvings that seemed oddly familiar to her.


	3. Chapter Three

It had been a week since the ruins and Clarke couldn't stop herself thinking about Lexa. She was so consumed with her thoughts of the elf that she barely thought of the carvings that she thought she had seen before. She was sat on the floor of her room looking at the sketches she had drawn over the past week - She had a very detailed memory that allowed her to remember things so well she could sketch them later. There were some of the ruins and carvings, she had done the day they'd returned home, but most were of beautiful green eyes and cute pointed ears. ' _Maker what is it about her_.' she thought to herself. ' _It's because she's an elf and I've always wanted to know about them. Yeah, that's it . That must be it. It's not like I could already be crushing on the beautiful brunette. Right?'_ She put all the sketches back into her book, grabbed her bandana to put on later, then headed downstairs to join her mother for breakfast.

"Hey mum."

"Good morning, Sweetheart." Abby placed a kiss on her daughter's head.

"You need my help with anything today?"

"After breakfast would you mind heading out and collecting some herbs and plants for me?"

"Of course not." Clarke smiled at Abby and together they headed for the kitchen.

Over the other side of the forest, just outside the Trikru camp, Lexa's mind again drifted to thoughts of the blonde she had saved, when suddenly she was hit on the head by a staff.

" _Where are you, Leksa? Your head is somewhere else."_

 _"I am sorry Onya_."

Lexa got herself back into a fighting stand with her own staff held in both hands. The cousins continue to train until again Lexa mind wondered to eyes as blue as the sky itself. Lexa fell onto her back after Anya swept her feet out from under her. The older elf rolled her eyes at the girl, then offered her hand.

" _It would be best to continue this tomorrow. You should go for a run and clear your head."_

 _"Sha Onya."_

She handed her staff to her mentor then start heading off into the trees.

" _Klark_?" The blonde lifted her head, from the plant she was picking, to see Lexa standing near her. Clarke couldn't stop the grin that broke out on her head, while she stood up. She looked the elf up and down, admiring how her skin looked with a light sweat on it. "These woods aren't safe for you to be on your own"

"Please, don't worry. I'm just collecting ingredients for healing medicines." Though Clarke couldn't deny the light flicker in her chest by the elf's concern for her safely.

"May I accompany you?"

"So long as I am not keeping you from what you were doing?"

"No. I was only on a run. Shall we, _Klark gon Arkadia_?" Lexa moved her hand in front of herself to show Clarke she was ready to go.

The pair started to walk deeper into the woods, Clarke felt safer going further in now she had the elf with her. "What does that mean? Clarke gon Arkadia?"

" _Klark_ of Arkadia."

"Oh. Think you could teach me more elvish?"

Lexa's only response was a slight smirk of her lips.

An hour later the young women had gathered everything that was on Abby's list. Clarke had done most of the talking, asking many questions about the culture of the elves and Lexa herself. ' _Wow. She is trained to hunt, flight and can speak our language amazingly well. And she is clearly very wise, as well as gorgeous...does she have any flaws? Well except for logical answers and showing little emotions that is . Though her eyes seem to give them away. By the Marker, what amazing eyes she ha-'_

"What about you, _Klark_? I would like to learn more about you.' Lexa cut off the blonde's thoughts.

"Well not much to tell. Spend most of my life in a mage tower with my mum."

"You are a mage?" the elf's eyebrows lifted slightly.

"No, I'm not but my mum is. I've never shown any sign of magic myself. But my mum is teaching me how to heal with traditional methods. Hence the gathering of these." She held up her full bag.

"I see. How about your father?"

"He died before I was born." Clarke replied quietly, looking at the ground. She then felt a hand on her arm. Even through her jumper she could feel the heat of Lexa's palm. She turned to look at the brunette, who was looking at her with sadness in her eyes. "Anyway," Clarke cleared her throat. "What else can you tell me about your people?"

"Why are you so interested to learn about my people?"

"Well…the thing is...I'm not totally...well." Thinking actions would speak louder than words, Clarke slowly pulled off her bandana and brushed any loose hair behind her ears. Lexa eyes widened as she saw that, though not as long as her owns, the tips of the blonde's ears were pointed. "You are an elf?"

"Half. My dad was one."

* * *

"You're half elf?" Lexa asks again to confirm what Clarke had said, while sitting down on a nearby log. She had never heard of such a thing before. It only made her more interested in the blonde. If that was even possible.

Clarke only nodded as she dropped down beside her.

"How?"

"My grandparents kept my mum as an apostate for most of her life." The young women were now sitting side by side on a fallen log they had found. "They didn't want her to have to go in a tower. My dad lived in the same city as them. He work for a man at the markets. It was there my parents met." Clarke smiled to herself. "Mum told me it was love at first sight between them. They used to meet in private so no one would know about them. A year after they first met my mum discovered she was pregnant. My dad was so happy and proud, he told the man he worked for." Clarke lowered her head and voice. "The man got a group of humans together and they...they beat my dad to death. They strongly believed humans and elf shouldn't be together." Lexa placed her hand on Clarke's thigh and gave it a light squeeze. "When my grandparents found out what had happened they were angry at my mum but also worried for her safety. My grandfather took my mum to the Circle of Magi, who put her in a tower before anyone could get to her...or me. They never spoke to her again before they died. I never got met them or my dad." Tears now slipped freely from blue eyes.

Lexa placed her hand on Clarke's cheek, turning the blonde to face her. She gently whipped a tear from Clarke's cheek with her thumb. "I will gladly teach you the ways of our people."

Sad blue eyes looked up into caring green eyes. Clarke lips upturned into a smile. "Thank you Lexa."


	4. Chapter Four

Abby opened the knocking door of the Griffin house. "Good morning Marcus. Please come in." The village's leader followed the mage to her kitchen. "May I get you anything?"

Just then Clarke came bounding down the stairs and skidded into the kitchen. "Morning mum, Mr. Kane. I'm gonna be out again today. I promise I'll be home before the sun sets." She grabbed the basket of cheese, bread and apples that she had made the day before. Kissed her mum on the cheek then left through the back door.

"Marker, she is in a rush to go somewhere." the man chuckled.

"Twice a week for the past month she has been in a rush to go somewhere. Whenever I ask she just changes the subject." Abby shook her head.

* * *

"I'm laick Clarke gone Arkadia" Lexa smiled at Clarke's attempt at speaking the language of the elves. They were sitting in an area of the forest they had set up for Clarke's training. "What? Was it that awful?"

"It is 'Ai laik Klark gon Arkadia' but I can tell you have been practicing." Lexa felt pride in how much Clarke had progressed in such a short time. She could tell the blonde was serious about learning the ways of their people.

Clarke pushed Lexa lightly on the arm. "Hey! It's not like it's easy learning a new language." The blonde explained.

"I never had trouble with it." the brunette said in all seriousness.

"Of course you wouldn't."

"What do you mean by that _Klark?_ "

"Is there anything you can't do?"

"I can not whistle."

Clarke burst out laughing.

"What's funny?" Lexa lifted a single brow.

"I'm sorry. But you're trying to tell me that the mighty _Leska kom Trikru_ can't whistle?"

Lexa frowned at the blonde.

"It is not funny _Klark_. I have never learnt how to whistle"

"Sorry, it's just how serious you always are. It's just us here Lexa. Lighten up."

"Lighten up?"

"It means have fun. Stop being so serious. Hey, how about I teach you to whistle? It's easy. All you have to do is put your lips together in an O shape and blow." Clarke pushed her lips together and demonstrated, blowing out a perfect whistle.

Lexa pushed her lips together and blew. However the only sound that came out was a pfft. Frustration hit her as she tried again but the outcome was the same as before. Clarke doubled over in laughter.

Lexa couldn't help but smile at the blonde. The sound of her laughter was refreshing to the elf. After a few moments the brunette cleared her throat and stood up from the log.

"I think we should practice your archery again."

Clarke tried again with the bow but sadly, again, the arrow landed in the ground a few inches before the target drawn on a tree. She gave out an angry sigh, rubbing her sore, red forearm. She turned her head towards her teacher. "Lexa? I can't do it!"

Lexa smirked and walked closer to stand behind the blonde. "You are losing your hold on the string too soon." Clarke's breath caught in her throat when she felt Lexa's hands on her hips. "And you are turning your wrist, that is why the string is hitting your arm. String another one."

Blushing the blonde lifted another arrow from the quiver at her side. She felt one of the brunette's hand leave her hips, then her fingers wrap around her left wrist.

"Make sure you pull the string back tight, do not turn your wrist." Lexa breathed into her ear. Once she felt Clarke had it right, she placed her hands back on the blonde's hips.

Clarke took a deep breath, looking at the target. ' _I can do this_.'  
She slowly released the breath she was holding and focused herself on the target in front of her. In one quick movement she released the string. Making sure this time she didn't release her hold too soon.

The arrow hit its mark, not centre but it was still better than the ground. Clarke turned her head toward Lexa smiling, however her breath hitched once again when she noticed how close their faces were, lips so close to each others. She looked into green eyes and saw the same desire she felt. Lexa brought her hand up to place onto Clarke's cheek, slowly they leaned in closer. Their eyes slid shut, lips just a breath away. Suddenly there was a loud awful noise, somewhere in the forest, that broke the pair apart.

" _Shit_!"

"By the maker, what the fuck was that?"

"It sound as if it came from the Azgeda ruins"

"The Azgeda ruins?"

"Where we met."

The girl took off running in the direction of the ruins.

They made it to the hill where the ruins were located. They kept back, hiding within the tree line. Standing in the middle of the ruined building there was a large dark figure. It was the size of a two story house. It's skin made up of dark purple scales. It spread its large bat-like wings, knocking over one of the columns, then took off into the sky.

"Is that a fucking dragon?!" The blonde turned to the elf in shock. "I thought they had all died out?"

"No. There are a few left, but one has not been seen in these parts for hundreds of winters." Lexa grabbed the blonde's hand. "We need to go." and start pulling them in the direction of Arkadia.

Once they were at the edge of the forest, with Arkadia in sight, Lexa finally let go of Clarke's hand. "Go home, _Klark_ , and do not leave your Village. You must stay away from the forest." She started to walk back into the forest.

"But what about about my training? When will I see you again?" Clarke's mind was racing ' _Maker, first we nearly kiss, then dragons and now I don't know when I'll see her again!'_

The brunette looked longingly at the blonde, torn between her heart and her head. 'She looks so hurt and confused but I have to tell keeper Titus what we witness, my people need to know.'

She walked back to the blonde. "Once I know what is happening I shall find you. Be safe till then." She held her arm out to Clarke so that they may share a traditional elf shaking, which she had taught her.

Clarke looked to Lexa's arm then back up into green eyes, then down to her plump lips. ' _Fuck it!_ ' She stepped forward and put her hand on the back of Lexa's neck, pulling the elf's lips down onto her own. ' _Maker! Her lips are amazing!_ ' Clarke thought as soon as their lips meet. ' _Even softer than they look_.' All thoughts quickly escaped her as Lexa placed her hands on Clarke's hips and started kissing her back. The kiss was slow and tender, lasting a few minutes. Clarke moved her arms around the brunette's neck, while Lexa's moved hers around the half elf's waist. Slowly they pulled away from each other to catch their breath. "Please stay safe too, Lexa" Clarke said while leaning her forehead against the elf's. Lexa pulled Clarke into an embrace. She gave the blonde another gently peck on the lips before turning and disappearing into the trees.


	5. Chapter Five

The Trikru camp was in a large clearing deep within the forest of Polis. It was made up of many tents, big and small. The camp was it's usually hive of activity, when Lexa entered. She nodded her head at the warriors, who were always guarding the entrance of the camp. At the giant fire, located in the middle of the camp, Lincoln and Penn were smoking meat. Tristan was at his workbench outside of his tent working on new weapons. Young elves chased each other around between the tents. On the outskirts of the camp Indra was training with her warriors. Not far from where they were training there was a herd of Halla being tended to by Gavriel.

Lexa made her way towards Keeper Titus' tent. The Trikru clan, like all elf clans, didn't have a leader per say but the Keeper was the one they went to when seeking guidance.

The Keepers and their seconds were the only mages within an elf camp. Mage elves were very rare. If a camp's Keeper already had a second and a mage child was born within a camp, when of age, the child would be sent to another camp seeking a second.

Lexa entered the Keepers tent to find Titus and his second Aden.

" _Leksa, how can we help you?_ "

"I _just witness a dragon leaving the Azgeda ruins._ "

That immediately got the Keepers didn't want to believe that a dragon had return to the forest of Polis, but Lexa was one of his most trusted elves. She was wise beyond her years, just like her father used to be.  
" _Are you sure it wasn't a giant wyvern?"_ Titus asked. _"Dragons have not been seen in these parts for many winters._ "

" _Yes Keeper, I am sure it was a dragon._ "

He almost sighed at her answer. If she was right this would mean trouble. Lots of it. He had to check for himself. Confirm what Lexa was telling him.

 _"I will send Indra and her men to check the ruins._ " He told Lexa with a slight nod. She lowered her head slightly in a form of thanks before heading out.

* * *

A couple of days later Clarke was sitting at the bar of Arkadia's tavern. Octavia was working so the blonde and Raven decided to keep her company on such a slow night. Apart from the three girls the only other people in the tavern was a group of 4 men at a table. Though Clarke wasn't being much company, she was lost in her thoughts needless to say they were centred around a certain green eyed elf and what they had witness. To say she was worried was an understatement. She couldn't do anything without her mind involuntarily jumping back to the events from a few days ago

' _I hope she made it back to her camp okay. That dragon was huge and dangerous to say the least. Why would it even be there. They are supposed to be extinct_.' That last part was the thing that bugged clarke the most. After lexa's safety of course .

"For god's sake Pirate. Stop mopping" Raven snaps pulling Clarke out of her thoughts.

"I'm not moping." Clarke said but she knew herself it wasn't true. Raven obviously didn't believe her because she only lifted an eyebrow challenging Clarke to lie again.  
"Okay. Fine. I might be a little bit out of it lately"

"A little bit out of it? You have done nothing but stare at the same spot on the bar since we got here."

Clarke sighed knowing that what Raven had said was true but what could she say. 'That I saw a giant dragon emerge from the old ruins when she was training with Lexa.' Not really an option was it.

"Clarke talk to us." Octavia tried to get her to open up, "Is it Finn? Is he bothering you again? I swear to god if he is, I will take care of his annoying ass myse-"

"It's not Finn" Clarke sighed cutting her friend off, " It's…It's something else."

"Something or someone?" Raven asked knowingly. She had always been able to read Clarke way too easily for her own good.

"It might be that last option", the blonde admitted to her friends.

That was when realization hit Octavia too. "That someone isn't by any chance a cute brunette elf that goes by the name of Lexa." she asked.

"Maybe."

"By the maker you are totally into her aren't you" Raven laughed.

Clarke could only blush making her friends laugh even more.

"Oh our little Clarkey is in love", Octavia teased.

"Am not"

"Then why are you going as red as a tomato" Raven retorted standing by the younger brunette in her teasing

"Cause you are embarrassing me"

"The only reason why you are embarrassed is because we are so on to you."

Clarke grew even redder at Ravens comeback. Why? Because there was nothing to say. It was true and they all knew it.

"Fine, I like her. Happy now?" Clarke grumbled.

"See that wasn't so hard to say was it" Raven grinned while throwing an arm around Clarke's shoulder. The blonde just answered her with a deathglare.

"Or not", Raven corrected while retracting her arm carefully.

Octavia bursted out laughing at that but as soon as Clarke gaze settled upon her she swallowed it. "Oh come on Clarkey. Lighten up. It's cute."

"You aren't the one who will have to sit through the endless amount of teasing from this one over here" she answered pointing at Raven.

"Oh come on. I'm not that bad"

The two girls glared at their friend at the same time.

"Ok fine I might sometimes go overboard a bit. But hey it's part of my adorable charm." Raven wiggled her eyebrows at her two best friends making them burst out laughing.

Suddenly there was a loud bang followed by screams from outside.

"What the fuck?" Clarke asked while jumping up from her stool ready to react to whatever was happening. More screams filled the air and before she even had taken a second thought about it the girl ran out the tavern skidding to a halt just outside the tavern witnessing the village in total panic. There were demons and undead everywhere. Most of the demons looked as though instead of legs they walked on mist. Long talons made up their fingers, their faces held no features at all. A few of them looked as if they were made up of lava. Their skin was always changing like the surface itself had a life of its own. The glowing red almost bubbling and the patches of black constantly moving. Heat was radiating of their bodies in waves bruning everything and everyone who came too undead must have been soldiers, they still had some armor and weapons on them even though time had obviously had an impact on them. Rust was coating the blades, spears had broken ends and armor hung loosely or only half on their decaying bodies. Many people laid dead on the ground. Blood drenching the earth beneath them seeping deeply into the ground

"What the fuck is happening?!" Octavia shouted appearing behind Clarke in the doorway merely a second after the blond. One of the undead spotted the girls and started making its way towards them. Before it could fully make it to them Bellamy appeared out of nowhere cutting off its head in one swift motion. "We have to get out of here. Arkadia is done for. Most of the village is dead already!" That pulled Clarke back into reality

"Maker, my mum!" The blonde girl realised and without a second thought she took off in the direction of her house.


	6. Chapter Six

Lexa stood with Anya watching Keeper Titus' tent. Indra was in there informing the Keeper of what her and a few warriors had found in the Azgade ruins earlier that day. Once Indra left the tent the cousins made her way towards it. They gave the warrior a stoic nod as they pass her.

Indra was the chief warrior of the clans, a tough elf who possessed strong leadership qualities. She had dark brown skin, which was covered with multiple scars. She was of average build with short black hair and brown eyes. Her face was tattooed as well as scared. Indra nodded back and made her way towards the entrance of the camp to help with guard duties.

They entered the tent to find Titus on his own. Anya stayed standing near the entrance of the tent, while Lexa made her way towards the Keeper.

" _Indra and her men found nothing in the ruins."_ Titus informed them.

 _"I swear to you Keeper I saw a dragon that day."_

" _I do not doubt you Leksa."_

 _"But?"_

 _"But there is no evidence that a dragon was ever there. How do i justify actions without real proof and how do we act upon something we have no clue about?"_

Lexa was about to answer as the flaps at the entrance opened. Indra semi entered.

" _Keeper sorry to interrupt but there are humans at the front of camp. A girl is asking for Leksa._ " All heads turned from Indra to Lexa.

' _Klark?_ ' Lexa immediately realised. ' _What is she doing here? She shouldn't be here_.' But then it hit her. ' _Something must have happened._ ' Ignoring everybody inside the tent Lexa rushed passed Anya and Indra. She knew it must be serious if Clarke had come to the Trikru camp.

" _Leksa. Wait!_ " Anya run towards her cousin, who was half way through the camp already. " _Why is a human asking for you_?"

Lexa didn't hear the other elf. She was too concerned with what had happened to Clarke.

She rushed to the blonde, once she had made it to the entrance of the camp. She noticed the other two girls she had seen in the ruins, the blonde's friends. There was also 13 other people with them, one of which she could see had a mages staff. She worked her way past Indra's other warrior standing guard.

" _Klark_ , what happened?" Lexa whispered to the blonde once she was in front of her, noticing the scars all over her face.

"Our village was attacked by demons and the undead. It's gone." the blonde croaked out holding back the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't know where else we could go." Clarke whispered back, feeling much safer now she was in the presence of the elf.

"Why are you here humans?" Titus asked once he and Indra made it to the front of camp.

"Our village was attacked. We're all that is left. Arkadia has been burnt to the ground. Everyone else is gone." Kane spoke up.

"And how did you know where to find us, human?" Titus asked somewhat displeased.

"Clarke lead us here. She said she knew one of your elfs."

Titus turned to Lexa in anger. "You told a human where to find our camp, _Leksa_?"

"I'm not human...not completely." Clarke spoke up, hoping to save Lexa from getting into trouble.

"Clarke?" Abby laid her hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"It's okay mum." She took off her bandana so that her ears were visible. "I'm half elf. My father was one." she heard her friend gasps in shock behind her.

The Keeper looked shocked for a moment the cleared his throat. "Demons can only be summoned by a blood mage. You sure that is what attacked your village?" he addressed to Kane.

"Yes. I'm very sure!" The two stared each other down.

"Nia…"

Titus' head snapped around to Clarke. "What?"

"Those carvings in the walls of the ruins. I thought I had seen them before. Then Lexa said how they were Azgeda ruins we saw the dragon come from. Now you saying blood mag-"

"Enough! Nia is dead!" He turned back to Kane after shouting at the blonde. "You can not stay here humans" then looked at Clarke with disgust. "or half race. The city of Polis is a quarter moon journey North from here. I suggest you travel there. We shall give you tents and some supplies for your journey." The Keeper felt the sooner the people of Arkadia left the camp the better. It was bad enough having humans within their camp but for all they knew the demons could have followed them here.

"Keeper it is not a safe journey. If you will not let them stay here then I will accompany them. " Lexa spoke out, there was no way she was letting Clarke out of her sight now, even if she didn't want to admit why.

Lexa had what little belongs she owned gathered in a bag. She was just sheathing her dual blades, into the scabbards on her back, when her cousin entered her tent.

" _You do know the only reason he is letting you go is because he knows you will go after them otherwise_." Anya sat down on Lexa's bed.

" _I know_."

" _Titus isn't happy about it_." The older elf smirked at her cousin.

" _I know that too_." she smirked back but stopped once she noticed Anya's face became serious again.

" _Then why are you leaving with them? Is it because of the half elf? You seem very protective of her."_

 _" I do not know how to explain it, but Klark...is special. "_

 _"How do you ever know her?"_

 _"We met in the woods. She was attacked by a giant spider. I saved her."_

 _"Look at you. Saving the damsel in distress. How heroic._ " Anya smirked.

Lexa only shot Anya an annoyed look at her comment as she stuffed the rest of her gear in her backpack

" _I met her again on one of my runs. She told me about her father and asked if I would tell her about our people."_

 _"Is that where you have been disappearing to this last month? To be with her?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _"And how long did it take for you to develop these feelings?"_

Lexa stiffened and stopped what she was doing. " _What_?"

" _You make it pretty obvious with the hearteyes."_

" _I don't know_..." Lexa sighed, letting herself fall down on the bed beside her cousin. " _I don't even know how I truly feel about her but what I do know is that from the moment we met I couldn't stop thinking about her "_

They sat in silence for awhile until it was broken by the older elf. " _You will not be returning, will you? After you have accompanied them to Polis. You will want to stay with her won't you? To make sure she is safe?"_

Lexa's silence was answer enough for Anya. She stood up from the bed and held her arm out to her cousin. Lexa stood up as well, wrapping her fingers around Anya's forearm, as Anya did the same to hers. " _May we meet again."_


	7. Chapter Seven

The saviours from Arkadia were tired and some of them injured, making the journey more difficult. The track alone was hard and tiring but with the wounded their pace was excruciatingly slow and they had to stop every hour to give them some rest before they could move on. After travelling for a good few hours, along the edge of the forest of Polis they finally decided to set up camp. Lexa noticed that during the journey Clarke had kept herself on the opposite side of the group, away from her friends. The blonde was trying to ignore them by talking to her mother and helping with the wounded. Of course Lexa knew exactly why she was doing it, Clarke was worried about the revelation she made at the camp. If the reaction of the others was anything to go by non of them had any idea that she was half elf. Clarke knew Lexa had noticed it. Lexa always seemed to notice what was going on around her.

The camp was nearly completely set up. Lexa was helping Kane put up the last tent. Abby was busy tending to Bellamy's wounds, so Clarke could help her tend to the other wounded that was sitting outside his tent. She hadn't seen her friends since they started setting up camp, which she was shamefully relieved about.

"Ok. Enough with you ignoring us" Clarke suddenly heard from behind her. She recognised the voice immediately. Raven. However if the 'us' was anything to go by Octavia was there too.

"I am not ignoring you", she lied, not taking her eyes of the wounded man she was attending to.

"Like hell you aren't" came Octavia's voice

"Guys I really don't have time for this." she got up and started heading towards the back of the tent.

"Then make time. What the fuck Clarke. You can't just drop a bomb like that and then ignore us!" Octavia shouted after her.

Clarke sighed, stopping for just a moment before continuing around the tent. She hoped her dismissal would be clear but she knew her friends. They wouldn't let this go. She knew in her heart they had a right to know the truth but it didn't make it any easier to talk about it.

"Fine" Raven sneered, "Come find us when you stop being a coward!"

With that the pair left to return to their tents leaving Clarke alone. She tried to ignore the pain that Octavia and Raven's words had caused her and crouched down in front of the box of medical supplies. Suddenly she felt a hand gently lay on top of hers. She looked up into green eyes.

" _Klark_ ," Lexa said her voice laced with concern and understanding, "Go speak with them. I will continue here."

Clarke was about to protest but Lexa cut her off. "I know you are scared to talk to them Klark . But they are your friends. They will understand."

"I lied to them Lexa. I lied to them for over 4 moons. How can they forgive me for that?"

"I know _Klark_ . But not talking to them may cause the end of your friendship. They came to you. They want to talk. Does that not tell you enough?"

"I guess it does." Clarke sighed, "But that doesn't change the fact that I'm still scared."

A soft smile spread across Lexa's face. "I know, _Klark_ ." she placed a hand gently onto the blonde's cheek. "But if they are truly your friends it will be okay. Now go."

A deep sigh passed Clarke's lips as she gathered her courage and stood up. She sent Lexa a weak smile before she turned around and walked by the tent, her heart beating like crazy.

Clarke found her two friends sitting together by a small camp fire. She let out a nervous breath before she went to sit by them.

"So the princess has honored us with her presence. I hope this time we are good enough to talk to" Raven bitched as soon as the blonde sat down.

"Raven." Clarke pleaded but it fell on deaf ears, the girl continued her rant.

"You better woman up and give us an explanation because I am seriously pissed off at you! First you lie to us and then after finally dropping that bomb you just ignore us. How is that fair?"

"I'm sorry ok. It's just…" another sigh left her lips before she continued, "It's just that everywhere I go humans judge elves. Whenever they talked about them there was so much distrust and hatred. I was…am afraid people would treat me the same. That the only thing you guys were going to see were my ears."

"Is that why you hid them from us? From everyone?" Octavia asked

Clarke only noded in response as she focused her attention on her hands.

"It's hard, you know. I feel I don't have a place where I belong. I'm not totally human but I'm also not totally an elf. Hiding it from people was just easier otherwise I am just always the half race."

"And you really thought we were going to be the same" Raven asked one eyebrow raised.

"I didn't know what to think Raven. How should I know how you guys would react? I've seen how the people around Arkadia are. How your dad and Bellamy see elves."

Clarke took a deep breath. "My dad thought he could trust his boss with his secret. And let me tell you it really didn't end well for him. He told him how he and his human lover were having a baby. Someone he thought ĺhe could trust and they killed him in return."

The girls sat quietly for a while, lost in their own thoughts. Raven starting to understand why Clarke had kept it a secret, Octavia feeling bad for the blonde, and Clarke worried they would never have the same friendship again.

"So that's why you have been off seeing Lexa this past moon?" Octavia asked hoping to break the tension.

"Yes. She has been telling me all about elves. Some of the history, culture and traditions. She's also been training me in archery and teaching me Trigedasleng. " Clarke smiled at her friend.

"Trige-what?"

Clarke laughed at Raven's confusion. "Trigedasleng, It's the elf language. Oh and she is also planning on teaching me other skills like hand to hand combat and weaponary skills."

"So basicly she has been turning you badass" Raven quiped.

"She has been teaching me the way of our people" Clarke repeated.

"By turning you badass." Raven grinned. Clarke could only shake her head laughing.

"Hey, you think she would teach me too?" Octavia asked suddenly.

* * *

"How did it go with _Raven_ and _Okteivia_? " Lexa asked Clarke as the blonde sat down beside her. She was sitting in front of a small fire she had made at the side of her tent.

"Good. Though Octavia now wants you to teach her archery." She huffed a small laugh out her nose while smiling. "Thank you for getting me to talk to them."

Lexa bowed her head at the blonde with a shy smile on her lips.

"So you started your training pretty young, huh?" Clarke asked wanting to make conversation so she could stay in the elf's company for longer.

"Yes. During my 8th winter."

"Do all elves begin training at such a young age?"

"No. _Onya_ had taken me as her second so she could become my guardian."

"What about your parents?"

"My mom died due to my birth."

"I'm so sorry Lexa." Clarke laid her hand on Lexa's knee and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"My father was the Keeper of Trikru. Our clan was bigger back then, we were camped in the forest of Dean. Titus was his second. All I know is that Titus came to my father about a desire demon whose blood mage no longer had control of it. It was disguising itself as a young woman. My father went to stop her but it killed him. The clan moved very shortly after Titus became Keeper."

"Did anyone manage to stop the demon though?"

"I do not know."

"What about the blood mage?"

Lexa shook her head. Clarke didn't know what else to ask, worried she had upset the elf asking questions about her father, so a silence fell upon them.

"How did you know about Nia?" Lexa asked breaking the silence after a while. She had wondered this since Clarke brought the old Keeper's name up in front of Titus. "I have never mentioned her before"

"There was a book in the mage tower about elf clan Keepers. It had a paragraph about Nia, how 107 winters ago she had become a blood mage."

"Yes. Our people say she desired the power she could gain from using blood magic. For ten winters she tormented all the races."

"How was she stopped?"

"I do not know. You believe it was she who attacked your village?"

"Well I read she used to summon an army of demons and undead. Also isn't it true she could transform herself into a dragon?"

"Some say she could. Some said it was just a story. Very few mages can achieve transformation spells, _Klark_."

"How come you know so much about mages?"

"Like yourself, I enjoy to read." The pair shared a shy smile as a comfortable silence once again settled around them.

Clarke had her hand on Lexa's thigh while leaning her head on the brunette's shoulder. They had been sitting in silence, enjoying the company of each other.

"I'm glad you came with us." Clarke lifted her head off Lexa's shoulder so that she could look at her.

"As am I." they shared another shy smile.

"I-" Clarke cleared her throat and her cheeks tinted red as she looked down at her knees. "I would have missed you"

Lexa slipped her fingers under the blonde's chin and lifted Clarke's face to look at her. "I would have missed you also." She slipped her hand from Clarke's chin to hold her cheek. They looked into each others eyes while Clarke leant her cheek against Lexa's palm. Green eyes looked down to the blonde's lips then back up again to her blue eyes. Clarke licked her lips. They slowly started bring their lips closer. Both had been hoping for this to happen again since their first kiss and this time for it not to feel so rushed.

"Hey Clarke? You sharing the tent with me and Octavia tonight or are you bunking in your mum's?"

The pair jumped apart, their lips had just touched when the heard Raven coming around the tent. Clarke really hope her friend hadn't seen anything. "Em...I'll stay with you guys tonight" she jumped up from the ground then looked down at Lexa, blushing. " _Reshop_ _Leksa_."

"Goodnight _Klark_." Lexa then looked to Clarke's friend. "Goodnight Raven."

"Night." Raven shouted over her shoulder as the blonde started to drag her away.

"Did I interrupt something back there?" Raven asked smirking once they were away from Lexa's tent. ' _Shit! She did see.'_ Clarke thought while her cheeks when bright red again.

"Shut up Raven or I'll go bunk with my mum."


	8. Chapter Eight

"Who's that with your elf?" Raven asked Clarke. They were sitting by the campfire which was burning brighly. They had just finished checking up on the wounded and were using their free time to eat their breakfast while the others were cleaning up their camp. Everybody except Lexa and a muscled elf. They stood only a few yards away wrapped in an animated conversation. He was tall with brown skin and a shaven head. Tribal tattoos were visible on his arms and neck.

"I don't know Raven", Clarke sighed throwing another look at the two elfs, "and she's not my elf"

"You'd like her to be though." Raven grinned, winking at the blonde then turned her head to their other friend. "And O? You might want to stop drooling before you make your own puddle. Andraste Tits! What is it with you two and elves?"

"I'm not drooling! But Clarke if that elf of yours feels like introducing me to him over there I would not be opposed to it. Not at all."

Clarke only sighed again glancing in the direction of the two elfs. They obviously knew each other well. When she saw Lexa lay her hand on his arm, it made the blonde feel jealous.

She didn't understand why she felt that way. ' _Lexa likes me, right? We've kissed. But then again why have a half elf when she could have a whole one_.' Clarke thought to herself looking away from the elves to her own hands. Her thoughts swirling in her mind. She quickly stood up.

"I'm just…I'm just gonna go help the others." Clarke mumbled quickly before walking away, hoping that helping to clear up camp would help distracting her.

* * *

Once the camp was packed up, they had started on the journey North again. Lexa was walking at the back of the group incase any bandits or wildlife chose to attack the group from behind.

Clarke held back so she could walk with her. She wanted to know more about the elf who had been introduced to them that morning.

"So why is Lincoln here?" Clarke nodded her head towards the new elf who was walking a few paces ahead with Octavia at his side.

"He says he has come to help us but I believe _Onya_ sent him."

"You guys seem close."

" _L_ _inkon_ and I have done many hunts together."

"That all?"

"Yes."

"Nothing more between you two?"

Lexa could tell from the tone of Clarke's voice she was jealous.

"He is a good man _Klark_ ," she could hear the blonde sigh. "but I prefer the company of the fairer sex."

"Oh." Clarke looked at Lexa blushing.

The brunette had a shy smile on her lips, a smile she only shared with the blonde walking next to her. "I especially prefer the company of certain blonde half elf."

That made Clarke blush a deeper red, then she looked ahead again with a huge grin on her face. Feeling too bashful to say anything back she changed the subject by giggling at the fact Octavia was trying to talk with Lincoln but he seemed to be the quiet type. Her heart fluttered and her breathe caught in her throat when she felt Lexa's hand brush against her own while they walked.

* * *

It was a couple of days later when they finally made it to Tondc. It was similar to Arkadia, but bigger. The houses were made out of clay and wood and the market stalls stood in the middle of the village centre, with a blacksmith's, shops and tavern surrounding them.

The tavern thankfully had enough rooms for them all to get a good night's rest in a bed rather than roll mats and furs.

That evening, once they were all settled in, Kane, Abby, Clarke, Raven and the Blake siblings decided to have a drink down at the bar while the others from Arkadia chose to stay in their rooms. Lexa and Lincoln also joined them at the bar, though choosing to only drink water.

The tavern itself was busy that night. The only table available that was big enough for the group had someone already sitting there on their own.

Though he was sitting, he appeared to be tall with a very muscular build. His skin was a grey colour and from his head he had two large black horns. His hair and beard were dark, his eyes were a dark brown and his ears slightly pointed.

"Maker is that a Qunari?" Abby gasped.

Not many were seen in Ferelden as they were from the island nation of Par Vollen and Seheron.

"Excuse me Sir, do you mind if we sit here?" Kane asked the stranger once they had made their way over from the bar. The Qunari's only response was a grunt. Everyone sat down after Raven had decided the grunt was a 'yes' and had taken a seat.

"We shall rest here for a couple of nights then continue to Polis. It should only take a couple more days to get there." Kane spoke to everyone once they were all seated.

"What will we do once we get there?" Abby asked from beside him.

"We will see about being able to live and work there."

"How will we do that?" Bellamy wonder aloud.

"We will have an audience with Queen Luna. See if she can set us up with something"

"And you think she will just see you. Just like that?" The stranger at the table asked with a mocking tone.

"Bit far from home aren't you Qunari?" Bellamy said to him.

"Tal-Vashoth." He grunted back, with a deep angry voice before he stood up and left the table.

"What's does Tal-Vashoth mean?" Octavia asked before slapping her brother on the arm. "And rude much, Bell?"

"The Tal-Vashoth are those who have abandoned the Qun." Lexa began to explain. "Tho-"

"The what?" Raven interrupted

"The Qun", Clarke elaborated cutting Lexa of even before she could start, 'Its a code of honor based on the writings of some Ashkaari Koslun. The Qun is a philosophy, a set of laws, a legislative guide, and a social architecture governing the Qunari." Everyone, expect Lexa, looked at Clarke in shock. "What? I read a lot." she defended herself visibly getting redder with every second that passes.

Lexa put her hand on Clarke's knee under the table. A gesture made to reassure her but it only made Clarke's heart beat faster in her chest while her face was heating up even more. Lexa oblivious to the reaction she was causing on Clarke continued where she was before Raven interrupted. "Those who have left the Qun willingly are known as Tal-Vashoth. Most Tal-Vashoth are former soldiers and normally become mercenaries. They are considered by Qunari to be the worse of their kind."

They sat down in the bar for most of the evening planning what to do next. Once it had become late Abby, Kane and Bellamy headed up to the rooms they were sleeping in. Lexa and Lincoln had decided to camp on the outskirts of the village, as this was what they were use to. The three friends hadn't felt tired so Clarke had joined Octavia and Raven in the room they were staying in.

"So? You and Lincoln seemed to be getting to know each other rather well." Clarke teased as soon as the door closed.

"Yeah." Octavia smiled dreamily to herself "He's pretty amazing. He's so hot. And kind and smart and-" she stopped when she noticed her friend making gagging faces. "Shut up!" she threw her pillow at them. "And you don't have the right to pull that card on me, Clarke. Don't think I didn't see the way you blushed when Lexa put her hand on your leg." The brunette shot back.

"I have no idea what you are talking about"

That caused Raven to laugh."Of course not Pirate. You only turned as red as a tomato. Be grateful she didn't notice. Not your finest moment Griff"

"Better than having no one" Clarke shot back. "Maybe you and the qunari could get together Revs."

"Oh ha ha. Anyway, before she left, I saw horny talking with your elf. Maybe they might get together" she stuck her tongue out at Clarke.

"Lexa isn't into m-" she was interrupted by a loud scream.

"Fuck! Not again!"

They made their way down the stairs but stopped halfway down as a demon was already roaming the bar downstairs. The demon noticed them before they had a chance to make it back upstairs. The girls were frozen to the spot as it started gliding quickly towards them. Suddenly the demon was sliced in half, turning into smoke. Standing in it's place was the qunari from earlier. He nodded his head at them before putting his battle axe over his shoulder and running outside.

"Maker it's the same demons that attacked Arkadia!" Octavia shouted as they made their way outside. Once they were in front of the tavern Lexa came running up towards them, a blade in each hand. "Get back inside the Tavern. It is too dangerous out here."

"There was a demon in the bar!" Raven shouted back.

"Then get to your room and lock the door until it's safe!" Lexa shouted back as she removed the head of an undead soldier.

"Now!" she ordered again as none of them started to move. That finally got the three girls moving . They had never seen the elf so commanding before. Let alone dangerous, it was like she was a totally different person when she was fighting. Graceful, fast and above all else deadly. Clarke felt wrong with how turned on seeing the elf like this made her feel.

"We need to learn to fight!" Octavia shouted to the other two as they made their way back to their rooms.

"Or I should just get together with that qunari! See how he protected us?"

"I'm serious Raven!" the younger girl shot back

"So am I!"

* * *

The guards of Tondc, with the help of Abby, Bellamy, the two elves and the Tal-Vashoth, had managed to fight off the demons and undead but the death toll was high and the amount of injured was even higher.

Now morning was upon them they were finally able to see the real damage the attack had caused. The worst of the fires had either burnt out or been put out. Abby and Clarke help the village healers with the injured, while the rest of their group helped with clearing the rubble of the fallen houses.

By mid afternoon they had done all they could to help. Kane decided that they should leave a day earlier, Queen Luna had to hear what was happening to the villages in her Kingdom.

The Mayor of the village had just finished thanking them all for their help and they were about to make their way out of the village, when the qunari approach them with a bag and his battle axe over his shoulders.

"I will join you on your journey to Polis."

"You think you can just join us?" Bellamy said.

"He is a good fighter, and with these attacks having extra strength would be beneficial." Commented Lexa.

"We don't know him. You said yourself most of his kind are mercenaries, he could kill us in our sleep and steal our stuff."

"He saved us from a demon in the bar last night, Bell."

Bellamy looked from the qunari to his sister in shock. "What?"

"Lexa is right. The extra strength would be good." Kane spoke up. He turned and held out his hand to the qunari. "Welcome aboard Tal-Vashoth."

He looked down at Kane's hand "Call me Gustus." Then walked past Kane towards the village exit without shaking his hand.


	9. Chapter Nine

After a quarter moon's travelling the saviours of Arkadia and the two Trikru elves had finally made it to Polis.

Polis was the capital of Ferelden as well as an arling of the kingdom. It was also considered a holy city to worshippers of Andraste, the wife of the Maker, as it was the place of her birth. Home to both nobility and common people, the sprawling city had much to offer, with its marketplace, magic shops, armorers, taverns and bordellos. Everywhere you looked there were people buzzing around filling the streets with the life the city itself held within.

The Ythan River crossed the city from the west to the east before joining Polis harbor and entering the Amaranthine Ocean.

On the East, near the ocean, there was a slight hill on which Polis Castle sat. overlooking the city and the harbor, this was where they would find Queen Luna.

As they made their way towards the castle Clarke couldn't help but stare at the city around them. It was so different from Arkadia. So much bigger. So much more Alive.

"Quite the view don't you think" her mother asked catching her daughters amazed stares.

Clarke hummed in response. "It's all so big and busy in comparison to Arkadia."

"It is", Kane agreed proudly, "Polis is the most thriving city for miles and miles around. It's quite amazing actually. People come from far just to trade and negotiate prices."

Clarke stopped walking however when she saw elves sitting on the side of the street. They appeared thin; their clothes hanging off them, their faces gaunt. Behind them she saw large opened gates, through which she could see house that were run down, the street covered in dirt and grime.

"What's through there?" She asked out loud.

"That is an Alienage." Lexa answered. " Elves who live in the city, owned by humans, live within those walls. Treated by humans as slaves or animals just because of who they are."

Clarke shuddered at that thought. She had always known that there was inequality between humans and elves. Hence the reason why she always covered her ears 'And I don't even want to think about my dad' she thought. She never knew things were this bad until she saw it for herself.

Clarke was pulled out of her rambling thoughts by Bellamy's voice

"Hey! Where do you think you are going?" He shouted at Gustus' retreating back.

"To get a drink. I have no need to see your Queen." Gustus shouted back over his shoulder as he made his way towards a tavern called Moonshine

At the bottom of the hill there was a guard standing next to some hanging cages, all but one were empty. Inside it was a grumpy looking dwarf. He had dark brown hair with dark eyes to match. His hair was longer towards the back of his head. His skin was very pale, like most dwarfs as they choose to live in a mountain rather than on the surface.

"Wonder what he did to be put in there?" Octavia whispered to Clarke.

Once they had made it up the hill Kane approached one of the guards standing at the gate of the castle. He was slim, with a large pointed nose, dark blue eyes and brown hair hanging just above his ears.

"Sir, we wish to see Queen Luna. Our village was destroyed by demons and we are all that is left. We really need to speak with her. Please. We have information about these attacks that might prove useful."

The guard let his gaze wander over the group of travelers his eyes lingering on the elves in their company.

"They escorted us here, to give us extra protection, after our village was attacked", Clarke explained seeing his questioning gaze.

That was obviously enough for him since he nodded his head, then headed into the castle after asking them to wait.

It only took a few agonizing long minutes until the guard returned motioning them to follow.

He lead them through the castle to the throne room. The room was large with a high ceiling. The floor was covered in a deep blue carpet. On one side of the room was a large fireplace, with a warm fire crackling and snapping happily to itself. The throne sat on top of a raised level from the floor, with three steps leading up to it.

Queen Luna rose from her throne and made her way down the steps towards them. She was around the same height as Lexa. With tanned skin, plump lips, and dark eyes. Her hair was dark, wild and frizzy.

"My guard Murphy tells me you say your village was attacked and that you have information for me?"

"Yes, your highness. It was attacked by demons and the undead. We are all that made it out alive. On our journey here we stopped at the village of Tondc which was also attacked." Kane explained to the Queen.

"I am truly sorry for your loss. Sadly this is not new information to me, many villages within my Kingdom have been attacked by demons and the undead."

"Lexa and I saw a dragon." Clarke spoke up from behind her mum and Kane. She stepped forward now that all eyes were on her.

"And who might you be?"

"Clarke, your highness."

"And where did you see this dragon." the Queen questioned.

"At the old Azgeda ruins in the forest of Polis. Your Highness"

"And this Lexa you speak of. Can she vouch for what you are saying here?"

"Yes she can", Lexa suddenly jumped in also making her way to the front.

A small smile appeared on Luna's face at Lexa's boldness. "I presume you are Lexa?"

"Yes."

"And you can vouch for what Clarke says?"

"It is what happened."

Luna nodded at those answers. "I was afraid so" she sighed.

"What do you mean?" Clarke jumped in forgetting all about protocol. The Queen obviously knew something and she wanted answers. They had been through too much for half answers and lies.

The Queen didn't say a thing about the lack of Clarke's protocol. She only let a sad smile play over her face before answering.

"Nia is back"

She didn't say anything else but it was enough to throw all their lives upside down.


	10. Chapter Ten

"Why do you believe Nia is back?" Lexa asked Queen Luna.

"The demons and undead army are the same as the ones she used a hundred winters ago."

"But why do you believe it is Nia, your highness and not someone copying her?" Clarke asked.

"Six moons ago a girl was employed to work in the castle kitchen. She was spotted often near a lock door which holds private documents. I thought nothing of it. Then two months later Ontari disappeared. When I check the documents a list of Nia's supports had been taken. Word came back to me that the elven clans and some humans tribes who were supporters of Nia had either disappeared or been slaughter. After that is when the attacks within my Kingdom started. I hoped it was a copycat, but after you said about seeing a dragon at the Azgeda ruins I am sure that Nia has returned."

"But why is she attacking innocent people, Your highness?" Abby asked.

"I believe she hopes that my people will turn to another for help because I can do nothing to stop these attacks. Also that the stress will weaken me enough for her to strike me down. Absolute power is what she desires."

"How will you stop her?" Clarke spoke up.

The guard who lead them in stepped forward quickly. "That is official royale business. And is of no concern of yours. "

"Stand down Murphy." Luna commanded her guard. She then turned back to her visitors. "What will be done about Nia's return is none of your concern and will be handle accordingly. In the meantime, I shall grant you accommodation and the chance to work in the capital. If you wait outside I will have someone show you to homes we have available. They will also inform you of work."

With these words queen Luna dismissed them and they were again led through the giant castle by a guard. As soon as they were outside Bellamy turned to the two elves. "So you two will be on leaving now?"

"No. We are staying for now." Lexa replied.

Bellamy looked anything but pleased at this. "You'll have to stay in the Alienages then,with your own race "

That got him a couple of cold glares from the rest of the group. He ignored it and wanted to continue but Kane cut him of.

"No." Kane said coldly before he turned to the elves sending them a warm smile. "You will stay with me as my guests."

"Thank you." Lexa nodded her head at Kane. "That is very kind of you." Lincoln added.

Once their guide had arrived she took them to their new homes. They weren't the best of housing, somewhat rundown. But they were giving to them for free so they could not complain. It was explained that once they had found work they were welcome to buy or rent better accommodation. Once everyone had put what little belongings they had away, the rest of the day was taken up by their guide giving them a tour of the city.

* * *

The next day Clarke, Lexa, Raven, the Blake siblings, and Lincoln meet in the travin Moonshine. They had found a table towards the back of the bar, in the hope no one would cause trouble with two elves sitting with them or overhearing them discussing what Queen Luna had told them.

"I bet she hasn't even got a plan!" Raven grumbled annoyed.

"Why wouldn't she have a plan" the older Blake asked.

That got him a raised brow from Raven. "Oh come on. I don't buy a thing from her 'It's none of your business crap'. Hell she didn't even know about the dragon until we walked in there."

"Still" Bellamy defended. "Doesn't mean she won't come up with one. Besides what does she need to know. All she needs is a location and her army then all of this will be over."

"You really think it will be that easy" Lexa scoffed.

"Haven't you heard the stories." Clarke piped up. "Last time she almost succeeded in her intentions **."**

"She was the Keeper of the Azgeda elves when she discovered blood magic." Lexa began to explain. "And somewhere in that crazy mind of hers she saw this as a way to accumulate more power so she began practicing it. It started with small spells but it didn't stay that way. She used her powers to build an army of demons and undead strengthening the troops of Azgeda. They slaughtered every army that rose up against them. Till the battle of Polis. Where the lands came together and fought against Nia. the losses were great but they won. They won and divided the lands of Azgeda building Polis here as a reminder of what had come to pass."

"So what do we do then? Clearly Luna's army alone will never be able to defeat Nia's monsters" Octavia asked.

"We come up with our own plan." Clarke answered. Suddenly all eyes were on her.

"To take on Nia?" Raven asked in shock.

"Yeah"

"Clarke we can't even fight."

"We could learn!" Octavia turned to look at her brother and the two elves at the table. "You three could teach us!"

"Think my leg wouldn't agree with that O."

"Then help with the logistics." Clarke jumped in, "There is more than just fighting to be done. We need all the information we can get on both Nia as well as on Queen Luna and her plan. Maybe find out more about this Ontari girl? Every bit helps. We need to keep our eyes and ears open for everything but most importantly of all? This should stay under tight wraps. Nobody but us should know about this. We lay low, train and inform each other so when shit hits the fan we are ready."

Octavia was about to react when a skinny young man approached them. He has brown eyes and pale skin. On top of his thick dark brown hair he had a pair of goggles.

"Welcome my good people. My name is Jasper and this here is my good man Monty."

Another tall young man came up beside Jasper. He had an oval shaped face that was framed by straight, black hair. His skin was tanned with a golden undertone, and he had deep brown eyes with an epicanthic fold."Hey." Monty gave them a short wave.

"We own this fair tavern here and since we haven't seen your faces before I am guessing you must be new in town. I can only say you will have to try out our famous 'Monty Moonshine'."

"Famous? I've never heard of it before." Raven quipped.

"That will change quickly then" Jasper smiled, "As soon as you go moonshine you never go back."

That got a laugh from their table.

"Andraste's Knickers!" Jasper suddenly interrupted as he pointed at Lexa and Lincoln. "Are you two the Trikru elves people are talking about?"

"Wow news travels fast here." Raven whispers to Clarke, who nodded in agreement.

"Yes we are." Lincoln answer calmly giving away no emotion about the sudden outburst of the tavern keeper who was nodding at his answer.

"Cool! Well I don't mind you guys being here. Just, don't cause any trouble in here, alright?" Jasper answered. With that both he and Monty headed off.

' _Maker that is unfair! They wouldn't start trouble.'_ Clarke thought to herself. She could see Lexa clenching her jaw and swallowing down her angry.

Once Jasper and Monty were back behind the bar Bellamy turned to look at the two elves. "Maybe you two should cover your ears, like Clarke does."

"We shouldn't have too." Lexa spoke in a displeased tone, standing up from her stood. "And neither should _Klark."_ With that both of the elves left.

Clarke narrowed her eyes at Bellamy, while his sister smacked him on the arm. The pair got up and followed the elves out. Bellamy turned to Raven in confusion. "What?"

She just shook her head at him and left as well.

"Lexa! Wait!" Clarke shouted catching up with the brunette elf. Lexa slowed her pace gesturing to Lincoln to go ahead.

"I'm so sorry for Bellamy." Clarke said as soon as she reached the brunette and they started walking again.

"Don't apologies for him. His actions are not your own"

"I know but that doesn't change the fact he was a complete ass to you guys."

That brought Lexa to a halt again. She faced the blonde. Lexa's green eyes found Clarke's blue before she spoke.

"He was to you as well _Klark_ ", Lexa said her eyes never leaving Clarke's, " Bellamy saying we should cover our ears like you cover yours implies you too. _By the dread wolf Klark,_ you are one of us don't you see that and telling us we should cover our ears is like saying we should ignore who we are. I am an elf and I am proud of it no matter what he says. I'm not covering it up and neither should you _Klark_. You shouldn't be ashamed. Those ears don't change the woman you are inside."

She let out a long sigh before reaching slowly for Clarke's bandana, giving the half elf enough time to back away. When the blonde didn't move she slowly and carefully took off the bandana covering Clarke's ears.

"You are perfect like this _Klark_. Let nobody tell you otherwise."

Before Clarke could even think about what she was doing she enveloped the elf in a tight embrace burying her face in the brunettes neck. It took a second for the elf to incorporate. The brunette was totally overwhelmed by the sudden outburst from the blonde but as soon as she caught up she slid her arm around Clarke's waist pulling her impossibly close.

"Thank you" the half-elf mumbled into the brunettes shoulder, "Thank you for accepting and for seeing more than just 'the half elf'. Thank you for seeing **me.** "

"Always _Klark_ " the brunette whispered planting a soft kiss on Clarke head, "Always"

"I never got a chance to say this yesterday but I'm really glad you're staying"

"As am I, _Klark"_

Clarke smiled as Lexa gently held her cheek. She leaned into the warm palm, but moved away and rolled her eyes when she started to hear gagging noises and laughter from behind her. She turned around to see Raven pretending to be sick while a laughing Octavia stood alongside her.

* * *

Over the next month everyone began to settle into their new life in Polis. Raven got a job at the local blacksmith. Abby and Clarke started their own healer practice with the help of Kane. Bellamy was on the waiting list to get into the guard's training program and Octavia found work in the Moonshine.

The best thing about this was that their jobs gave them access to information. From the rumors spoken in the tavern to the stories of the wounded seeking refuge from the demons and undead.

Raven could tell them about the weapon's ordered by the castle and if Bellamy were to get into the guards they would also get more classified information straight from the army.

The only ones who couldn't really do anything were Lexa and Lincoln. They were ignored and avoided all around. Nobody talked or even wanted to look at them. The only reason people didn't comment on Clarke was because she was a half elf and still kept her ears covered half of the time despite what Lexa had told her. It was just easier that way. Nobody commented on not wanting to get treated by a filthy 'knife ear'. But the two Trikru elves still refused to cover their ears despite all of that. So they spent most of the time training and walking through the Alienages trying to gain info from the other elves.

It also had been decided that every quarter moon they would meet up in Moonshine to catch up and exchanged any gathered information.

For now things had been slow. Mostly training, reading up on history since they didn't have the contacts in the city yet and the people were still wary of them, but with the constant stream of refugees coming in, and they themselves trying to fit in with the people of Polis, the group of Arkadia slowly started to disappear from the spotlight and winning the locals trust.

"So anyone got something new and interesting to say?" Raven quipped falling down on the chair next to Octaiva on their fourth gathering.

"I've finally officially be accepted into Luna's guard as a trainee." Bellamy announced plopping down while grinning at his friends.

"That's great Bell!" Clarke quipped, "maybe now they let you do more than scrub toilets"

"Hey! Let me tell you that scrubbing the toilets is VERY important task." he defended himself mock offended, "It's good for our discipline"

"You're still scrubbing toilets aren't you?" the younger blake jumped in.

He shot her a death glare before he let out a grunt that sounded suspiciously a lot like a yes. "But" he jumped in before anyone else could comment "it's only when mess up badly during training"

"So about all the time then?" Raven grinned.

"I'm so flattered by all the faith you guys have in me." The older guy sighed dramatically

"It's not that we don't have faith in you Bell, It's that we know you" Clarke teased.

"Hey!" he exclaimed only half offended, shoving her playfully and unwantedly starting a play tickle fight between the two.

"Okay, okay break it up you two before you attract even more attention" Raven spoke while separating the two friends

"He started it" Clarke huffed

"No I didn't"

"Yes you did!"

"Ok enough you two" Raven exclaimed "Bell go sit next to O"

Reluctantly the older blake stood up and did as Raven told him. Plopping down next to his sister. Waiting till Raven reseated herself next to Clarke.

"Ok now we've separated the kids we can get back to business. O, you anything to share this week ?"

"My training with Lincoln is going well that's about it. The rest is the same old same old. Refugees streaming in from all over. All attacked by Nia's puppets"

Bellamy turned his head towards his sister looking unpleased "I said I would train you!"

"Yeah well, you've been busy with all your work and guard training."

"You and Lincoln must do a lot of training the amount of time you spend together." Raven winked at Octavia with a smirk.

"Shut up Raven!"

Raven and Clarke burst out in laughter as the Blake siblings faces seem to go red, one in embarrassment and the other in angry.

Once the laughter had died down Clarke stood up from the table. "Well, if you'll excuse me. I have to go meet Lexa."

"Yeah I should go train with Lincoln some more." Octavia said leaving before Raven or her brother could say anything to her about it. Clarke chuckled at her friend's retreating back then turned to Raven.

"Oh Raven don't forgot my mum asked you to get some fish from the market." and with that the blonde left too.

"What do those two see in those elves?" Bellamy asked Raven.

"Apart from the hotness? I have no idea."


End file.
